Ruto’s Chief of Staff Calls Out Govt Employees Over Poor Dress Code

Head of Public Service and Chief of Staff Felix Koskei on Tuesday lamented over what he described as extreme poor work culture among civil servants.

Speaking at the official opening of the 27th Annual National Human Resource Management Conference in Naivasha, on October 24, 2023,  Koskei criticized civil servants for their inadequate compliance with working hours, dress codes, official languages, the code of conduct, and standards of norms.

“The work culture in the public service has extremely deteriorated, to unacceptable levels and there is no secret in that,” Koskei stated.

To stem this trend, Koskei called upon human resource managers to ensure they gatekeep the culture in government departments to ensure that standards are maintained.

“Let us not drop our guard. You need to know that as a human resource officer, director, and manager all officers, and employees are looking upon you,” Koskei said.

The Head of Public Service further decried the lack of professionalism in the government in areas like promotion, deployment, designation, and staff development.

“As you know and as I am aware, in our institutions we have what we call career trainees, somebody moving from one training to another one, changing clothes at the airport,  who attend every training seminar and conference,” Koskei commented.

The former Agriculture Minister also revealed that the civil service is struggling with mental health challenges.

“I am informed that the statistics point to a crisis that has threatened productivity. HR professionals must make an effort to identify and mitigate risks that lead to such occurrences,” he said.

Koskei further called on Human Resource professionals to promote diversity and ensure that their workplaces reflect professionalism and represent a national outlook.

This comes one week after Koskei put corrupt public officers on notice claiming they will be held responsible at an individual level at a time when the government is looking to optimise available resources amid a crunch.

At the time, Koskei urged police officers to help the government stamp out the vice.